What Makes Us Happy?

On March 19, 2010, in the IIUM, precisely Experimental Hall at the administration building, happened an event that marked an important moment in my life, To be honest, I did frown upon a little bit when asked to perform a poem reading onstage at that night for a Maulud Rasul program. The moment I got a call from Alparslan, a Turkish friend of mine, I did say to myself, "please just get me out of that night fast!" Sorry Alp...

But, things changed a little bit when I attended the first rehearsal day. I met new friends, re-met old unknown friends, patched things up with a long-lost friend and I did catch up with old known friends too. The second day of rehearsal, things became a little bit more fun. I still didn't realize this fact though, as me reading a poem in front of other people for the first time of my life was very unimaginable.

Then the day came, where everybody was busy preparing, rehearsing, and decorating, well the hall that is. I was aware that I experienced this kind of elevated feelings, as if I was high of some drugs. I was thinking, perhaps it could have something to do with the nervousness. I socialized more and talked more with people. I tried to shift my attention to other people, as doing so could make me feel less nervous, but I still felt elated and shaky a little bit. Then, the night went on as it was planned, I did my performance, as did everyone else. Then, we proceeded to refreshment session where we socialized even more. And I was still euphoric (except I didn't know that it was euphoria).

Then the night ended, everyone had to go back to their own place. I realized something, that I became a bit down and devoured, and accidentally said to myself, "wait, it's finished?" and when I muttered those words, it struck me. I was happy, I was euphoric, I was elated. I was, fill in the blank with words that mean similarly to the first three I mentioned. It wasn't much about being nervous, it was so much about doing things that I was HAPPY about which were,

1) Doing seemingly impossible things.
2) Making new friends, retying broken friendships, and strengthening old ones.
3) Being in a group of people where respect was mutually exchanged.

So, yes, researches have shown a lot of variables that are generally associated with happiness such as, religion, substance, relationships, or even money. But for me, happiness is acquired in a more personal level. We personally know better ourselves what is it that makes it easier to carve a smile on our face. Happiness is something that other people should not tell you about, it is known when you learn about yourself and do things that is out of your comfort zone, because we always have a more capacity than meets the eyes.

So, hold your chest, close your eyes, and ask, "what makes me happy?"

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I would like to personally thank my friends, Fatih, Alparslan, Remy, Harun, Askar, Revsan, Abulikemu and others who were involved in the program, because you guys, every single one of you, mentioned or not, made my day!